A Place to Call Home
by Aiden'sxThexName
Summary: Squeal to We Are Not Alone. Its been a year since Ironhide's confession and Jennie and Scamper are back. A lot has happened since then. Read as they remember and start a new chapter in there lives. I suck at summaries.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi all! I'm back with the next installment of Jennie and Scamper's crazy adventures. There's a bit of a time jump in this one, but don't worry, it all gets explained as the story goes on. Not much of an author's note to start, so get to reading!**

* * *

**A Place to Call Home**

**Chapter 1**

**A new beginning**

* * *

Jennie's eyes flew open. Her cell phone was going off, and only one call could make it sing like Josh Turner. She scrambled to grab it from the bedside table, nearly face planting in the process.

"Yes? Hello!"

"Jennie." Ironhide's voice was crystal clear through the speaker. It melted her heart to hear it. She glanced at her alarm clock; 2am.

"You woke me up." She mumbled sleepily, "I haven't heard from you in a month and you decide to call me now." It was just over a year since Ironhide's confession, and for the last three months he had been on assignment rounding up the last Decepticons still putting up a fight here on Earth.

She could hear his grumble before he spoke again, his voice playful. "Fine then, sleep. I just assumed you would want to meet me when we arrived."

"WHAT?" she sat straight up. There was a laugh through the other end before the line crackled, signaling that Ironhide had hung up. Hastily, Jennie jumped out of bed and threw on a pair of jeans under her baggy sleep shirt. She ran out the door of her room, sliding her sandals on and throwing her now shoulder length curls into a ponytail as she went.

Outside the tarmac was lit with stadium quality lights making it look like the middle of the day. It was unusually crowded with human NEST team members to help with the wounded and dead. It broke her heart to think of them, but she knew that losing members was inevitable in this field.

It took another fifteen minutes before the cargo plane came into view and landed. Jennie was anxious, jumping from one foot to the other as she waited. Human members unloaded first, looking worse for the wear. Their eyes were dull, as were their uniforms, their faces dirty. Autobots came next, looking as worn as their human companions. First came Optimus, then Ratchet, Bumblebee, the twins, Sideswipe, Jolt (who honked a tired greeting), and Scamper. She ran to him first, getting caught in a clawed embrace.

"Hello, love. Miss us?"

She placed a kiss on his nose plate and stepped back, purposefully standing on his left side. "Always. It gets boring here with you gone. Where's Ironhide?"

Scamper scratched in between the plating on his helm with a claw before answering. "With the Major. He should be coming out any second." As if on cue, she could hear the rumble of the Topkick's engine. She watched as he slowly rolled of the cargo plane, Major Lennox close at his side. He gave a quick pat on Ironhide's hood and a two-fingered salute in Jennie's direction before heading into his office.

She walked to Ironhide slowly, feeling that electrical pull that said he missed her just as much. The air crackled before she was swept into the holoform's embrace. Strong arms held her to him as she buried her face in his neck and inhaled. She had been so scared on this mission, going weeks or months without hearing from him. To have him back was the biggest relief of her life.

He pressed his lips to her hair before holding her at arm's length to examine her. Jennie took the time to do the same to him, noticing how the holoform reflected his feelings. It was dirty, like the human NEST members, and his normally clean-shaven face was dark with stubble. There were bags under his abnormally bright blue eyes. He placed a kiss on her forehead, then nose, then finally, her mouth.

"Missed you." His voice was gruff against her lips. Jennie sighed, curling her head against his sculpted chest. "Missed you." She murmured back.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see the simple pine boxes draped in American flags being unloaded from the plane. "How many?"

Ironhide sighed, embracing her tighter. "Twenty."

Jennie looked up, shocked. "Out of a 50 man team!"

"These last Decepticons will not go without a fight." His eyes blazed, making Jennie sigh.

"C'mon then, handsome, you need rest." She could hear his engine rev appreciatively behind her as the holoform disappeared. She placed a hand on his front quarter panel, instantly feeling static from his spark caressing her hand. Together, they walked inside for much needed time together.

"Oh, and 'Hide? You need a bath."

* * *

_Just over a year ago_

Scamper and Ironhide stared at each other. Jennie stood between them, looking up angrily.

"Don't start with each other." She warned, as if she could stop two giant alien robots from fighting. "I thought all this was done! You guys are friends now, remember?"

"It is." Scamper addressed her without looking down. "Just want to make sure he's good enough for you, Love."

Jennie sighed, exasperated. "Seriously! You know-"

"If Scamper feels I'm not worthy, then as your guardian he has a right to say so." Ironhide interrupted her coolly. "Though it is a Cybertronian custom for the guardian to approve, I hope he understands his opinion will not affect my feelings for you."

Scamper's face broke into his lopsided grin. "Was hoping you'd say something like that." He held out a clawed hand. "That's an old custom, anyway."

Ironhide grasped forearms with the little 'con, silently relieved for the blessing. "I'm an old mech." His response was gruff, not giving anything away.

"You've got a hard road ahead, you two."

"We know." Jennie's voice was soft as she leaned against Ironhide's leg. "But we're ready."

Scamper grinned again. "Did you present her to Optimus yet?" For the first time, Ironhide looked worried. "Not yet. I was waiting on that."

"Present me?" Jennie sounded apprehensive as the two mechs knelt down to her level.

"When a mech and femme bond, the femme must be presented to The Prime." Ironhide's faceplates were scrunched nervously.

"Another _ancient_ custom." Scamper scoffed. "Hasn't been done in millennia."

Ironhide grumbled. "I like customs."

Jennie laughed, laying a hand in each of their larger ones. "I think it's a good idea. When can we do it?"

Scamper thought for a minute before smiling. "Tonight. This is all you have to do…."

OoOoOoOo

Jennie fidgeted nervously with the hem of her skirt. She had traded her usual wardrobe of worn jeans and threadbare t-shirts for a nice top and jean skirt that fell just above her knees. She wore her best wedge heel sandals. It was obvious she had made an attempt to tame her curls, though they were still wild.

"Relax," Scamper's holoform was next to her as they stood just outside of Optimus' office. They had thrown the rag-tag ceremony together last minute as soon as the Prime had agreed.

Jennie ran a hand through her curls and let out a breath. "Just hope all goes well."

Two sharp knocks came from the inside of the door. "That's our cue, Love." Scamper tucked Jennie's arm into his and smiled, his holoform's grin lopsided like his own.

They entered and Jennie gasped. All of the Autobots were there. _In their holoforms._ She gaped at Scamper as they made their way over to where the Prime was standing.

"Was easier for us to go down than for you to come up." He whispered in her ear.

Optimus looked just as regal in his holoform. Ironhide stood to his left, Ratchet to his right.

Scamper stood a little straighter, clearing his throat. "Optimus Prime. I Scamper, guardian of Jennine Ashley, present her to become the bonded of Ironhide."

_Yeesh._ She thought. _I didn't think it would really be this formal._

Optimus considered her with an attentive eye. "How long has this been going on?"

Jennie shuffled her foot anxiously. "About a month."

"I see." The Prime turned to Ironhide. "Do you wish to court this femme? This _human_ femme?"

Ironhide unfolded his bulky arms and gave a nod. "With your permission, Prime, I will."

Jennie could feel her heart do summersaults when Ironhide looked at her. Though his face looked impassive, she could see his eyes burn.

Optimus looked between the two for a moment before smiling warmly. "Who am I to stand in the way of a bond Primus has blessed? You have my permission."

Ironhide took three steps to Jennie and took her hand, blue eyes blazing into hazel. "Do you accept my courting you? I don't beg, remember?" he whispered the last part in her ear fiercely.

Jennie looked from Scamper to Ironhide, smiling. "Of course I do, you mean old mech."

Ironhide gave one of his rare smiles and looked at Scamper, who let go of Jennie's arm.

"She's in your care now, 'Hide. I trust you to keep her safe."

As an oath, Ironhide said, "I will."

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**Short first chapter, I know. Hopefully the next one will be out soon. **

**xoxo all, Aiden'sxThexName  
**


	2. Chapter 2

1**Hey readers! So I'm gonna give this story another shot. Practically right after I got the first chapter out my personal life decided to take hold and kill my inspiration for this story. I've let it sit, but lately its been in the back of my head. Lets see if I can put it back into play. Hopefully I can start updating regularly again. Hang in there, all!**

* * *

A Place to Call Home

Chapter 2

Family Matters

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_Present day:_

Jennie woke up refreshed for the first time in almost four months. Knowing that her bots were just down the hall put a spring in her step. She dressed quickly and added a handful of gel to her now shoulder-length curls, hoping it would keep them tame. She practically bounced down the hall to breakfast, nearly running headlong into Jolt's leg in the process.

"Good morning!" She waved up cheerily, grateful that things would be getting back to normal.

"Good morning," Jolt replied evenly. "I assumed you would be in Ironhide's quarters. It _has_ been three months."

Jennie flushed and kicked his leg playfully. "None of your business."

They chatted idly as they walked to mess, catching up on what had been going on around base. "They're building housing on base."

The two plates in place of eyebrows rose on Jolt's face. Jennie nodded at his unspoken reaction. "Its going to be well away from this side of the base. But they want to keep families together, I guess."

They stopped in front of the mess hall. "I promised Ironhide a bath today. You're more than welcome if you need one, too."

Jolt smiled. "I may stop at some point. Farewell, Jennie."

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OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_8 months prior:_

Four months. It had ben four months since Jennie had been presented to Optimus as Ironhide's "mate." It still shook her when she was referred to as "Lady Ironhide."

Currently, she was working with Ratchet yet again on Bumblebee's vocal processors. Her small hands were the perfect size for the delicate procedure.

"Okay!" She declared, running the back of her hand over her grease-stained forehead. "Wake him up, Ratch."

With a practiced hand, Ratchet flipped a few switches in Bumblebee's chest to pull him from stasis lock.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty." she said as Bumblebee's optics came back online. "Take it slow. Can you talk?"

The little scout looked around nervously. "I-I think so." His optics lit up quickly and he and Jennie exchanged excited looks. "I can! Ah, it feels so good. Hey ques-" Suddenly, Bumblebee's voice cut out. With a grinding noise, all of the wiring that had taken them hours to put in, came out in a giant heap.

Jennie's eyes flew to Ratchet, both horrified and scared for her friend.

"It is equivalent to a human throwing up. His frame rejects the wiring."

"Oh damn it!" Jennie was disappointed. "I'm so sorry, Bee."

The scout just shrugged good heartedly. _"Well if at first you don't succeed..._"

Jennie just smiled as her phone gave two quick beeps, signaling a text message. "Probably 'Hide." she mumbled as she wrestled it out of the case on her hip. "He hates it when I work..." her voice dropped off suddenly as she scanned the message.

"Jennie?" Ratchet began to worry as the little mechanic in training visibly paled before turning watery eyes on him. "What happened?" he demanded.

"My Dad had a heart attack."

* * *

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Yeah, Momma, I'll be there as soon as I can. No, no, I can get time off. I told you, its not like the regular military. You know I can't tell you what I'm doing. Just give him a kiss for me, okay? I love you, too. Kay, bye."

Jennie hung up the cell phone with an audible sigh. She could hear the pistons in Ironhide's hands hiss as they clenched and unclenched with frustration. "He's stable." she said at length. "But they don't know if there's going to be any permanent damage. Or if he'll wake up." The last part came on a whimper as she leaned against the railing of the platform that put her at Ironhide's eye level.

"I will go with you."

"They need you here." she said softly.

The door to the bay slid open to show Scamper as he rushed in. "I came as soon as I could, love. Is he alright?" he wrapped clawed hands around the bars on either side of her.

"I don't know yet." she sighed honestly.

"When do we leave?"

"I am taking her." Ironhide was visibly tense as Scamper turned.

"Yeah?" the smaller mech challenged. "Says who?"

"I do. She is my bonded."

"She's my best friend! Besides, I know her Dad."

Ironhide scoffed. "Yes, because the man who has just had a heart attack needs a giant sentient robotic being standing over him when he wakes."

"You're scarier looking than me!" The two mechs continued to bicker as Jennie rubbed her temples tiredly. She could hear the bay doors open again and could tell by the gait alone who it was.

"Optimus." His name came out like a plea. The great leader took in the scene before him as they settled down. With sad eyes he turned to Jennie.

"I have received word of your father's condition from Ratchet." his tone was gentle. "You are both in my thoughts and prayers to Primus. I assume you will be traveling to see him." he looked from one mech to the other. "You are both accompanying her?"

"Of course." They said in unison, agreeing for the first time that day.

Optimus gave a nod of approval. "Bumblebee will accompany you as well."

Jennie gasped. "Oh no, Optimus! That's really too much. I hate taking them as it is."

"We can manage for a time without them. Bumblebee will serve as guard. You are one of ours now, after all."

Ironhide puffed out his chest, smacking it with a metallic clang. "I am more than capable of protecting her!"

"Yeah!" Scamper chimed in, only to duck his head when the great leader shot him a look. "With all do respect, Prime."

"Your main focus will be Jennie." Optimus said, ever the diplomat. "Bumblebee will worry about everything else."

Ironhide grunted, satisfied, and put a hand out for Jennie to clamber onto. "That is very kind, Optimus. It means a lot to me." she shivered as Ironhide put her close to the warmth of his chest. She hadn't realized how cold she was.

"If its no trouble, I'd like to leave first thing tomorrow."

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**Okay well its short, I know, but its up. Hope its good!  
**

**xoxo all, Aiden'sxThexName  
**


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